Wednesday
Aug112010
Brands, breastfeeding, formula feeding, and parenting advice: Stride Rite / Robeez
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
I've written before about how bloggers should be careful what brands they align themselves with. You probably all remember the Nestle Family affair and may remember my post about brand-supported "charitable" twitter parties. The Striderite / Robeez private party that was held at the same time as BlogHer '10 (but not associated with BlogHer in anyway) is a great example of why brands also need to be careful about which brands they associate themselves with.
According to an e-mail I received from Mandy Murphy, the Account Director for Stride Rite (links added by me):
I think it is great that Stride Rite wanted to host a party to rebrand Robeez. I think it is wonderful that they are committed to offering a progression of shoes. I think it is smart of them to use social media and events like this to tell people, especially infuential mom bloggers, about their shoes.
Where I think they get into questionable territory is when they start associating themselves with other brands or with topics that are outside of their area of expertise.
In this case, Stride Rite had the mom bloggers it was working with put together a gift bag and although Stride Rite didn't choose the contents of that bag, it was aware of them, and the bag included samples of infant formula (I'll write more about this below) and other baby related products. If these products are handed out at a Stride Rite event, it is perceived (rightfully) as an endorsement of those products/brands by Stride Rite, especially when Stride Rite is not even being paid for the inclusion of those items.
But when this issue came up, I also started looking a little bit closer at the twitter accounts for Stride Rite and Robeez and noticed that they aren't always talking about their shoes. They are also, among other things, re-tweeting links to blog posts that dole out parenting advice. For some businesses, I think this makes sense. If you have a cloth diapering store, it makes sense to link to articles on cloth diapering. If you sell strollers, linking to an article on how to pick a stroller might make sense. But if you sell shoes, should you really be endorsing articles on, for example, infant sleep?
Infant sleep, like infant feeding, is a sensitive topic. Just as it isn't really a shoe company's place to endorse infant formula, it also isn't really their place to be endorsing an article that says you need to put your child in a crib and that if your infant starts crying you should wait a few minutes to see if he quiets down by himself. While this advice may be what some parents follow, it certainly isn't my cup of tea and I don't appreciate that advice being endorsed by a shoe company. I'm not saying that they should endorse my sleep recommendations either, I just think that they should stay out of the business of sleep altogether and stick to topics specifically related to their product, like feet and walking, unless they want to alienate parts of their audience.
I have been both pleased and disappointed with the responses I've received from people who were involved in the Stride Rite party.
I was disappointed in the Stride Rite response. As I quoted above, although they expressed regret that they may have "offended" someone with the formula samples, that really isn't the issue. They mentioned supporting a mother's right to choose, but as Amber from Birth Routes points out in her post, providing formula samples does not support a mother's right to choose. Instead, these samples have been shown to sabotage mother's breastfeeding relationship because they reach to them in times of weakness. Just like people trying to quit smoking should not carry cigarettes in their purse and people trying to lose weight should not stock their cupboards with junk food, moms who are trying to breastfeed successfully should keep formula samples out of their home. But they don't always know that. They take them, "just in case", and then they reach for them. They reach for them because they are crying and frustrated due to sore nipples, a baby that wants to nurse all the time, or a lack of sleep. They reach for them because their partner, their parents, their in-laws or others want a turn feeding the baby. They reach for them because "one bottle won't hurt", but it can and it does.
I was pleased with the response from Audrey McLelland from Mom Generations, the blogger who was responsible for putting the formula samples into the gift bags, in her post called Understanding the WHO Code. Audrey wrote:
In her post, Audrey also promised that she will never include formula and/or bottles in any gift bags in the future. I know that she has also been working today on blocking the URLs of major formula companies from her Google ads so that their advertisements do not show up on her site (this may take some time to take effect though as I am still seeing an Enfamil ad next to her post). I see this as a success. Someone who was previously unaware of these issues and that does a lot of work in this space is now educated and has made a promise not to do it again. She has also written about it on her blog, thereby informing a lot of people who were previously unaware of these issues.
Unfortunately, not all of Audrey's readers understood the issue and I know that it is not always easy to understand when first presented with it. The WHO International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is a document prepared by a major international public health body and endorsed by hundreds of countries around the world, many of which have turned it into law. It isn't just a radical or novel idea among some breastfeeding advocates. Formula companies are extremely aggressive in their marketing tactics, very smart sometimes and very stupid other times, and moms deserve protection from that. Breastfeeding moms deserve protection from having their breastfeeding relationship sabotaged and formula feeding moms deserve protection from artificially high prices driven by expensive, aggressive, and off-target marketing.
I was pleased to see that Danielle Friedland wrote a comment on Audrey's blog and a post on her own blog about how the WHO Code for Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes Expands Choice, Not Limits. She carefully explained each of the following points (go read the explanation in her post):
If you're reading this and are new to these issues you might be wondering what the WHO Code is anyway. As I wrote in my post on how to report unethical promotion of formula, bottles and other breastmilk substitutes, the Code restricts marketing and related practices for infant formula, any complementary food marketed for babies under 6 months, baby bottles, nipples, pacifiers and other similar products. Some of the provisions of the WHO Code include:
Best for Babes, an organization that seeks to give breastfeeding a makeover, support moms in making an informed feeding choice, and beat the "booby traps" that prevent mothers from meeting their own personal breastfeeding goals, is trying to increase awareness of the WHO Code through their new ad campaign. According to their press release:
I would love to see more infant product companies, like Robeez/Striderite, and like Motherhood Maternity, jump on board and adopt the WHO Code to show that they truly do support a mother's right to make an informed choice about how to feed her infant and her right to not have that choice undermined.
My baby thought breastfeeding and Robeez booties went well together.
Beyond shoes?
According to an e-mail I received from Mandy Murphy, the Account Director for Stride Rite (links added by me):
Stride Rite Children’s Group partnered with Audrey McClelland of Mom Generations and Vera Sweeney of Lady and the Blog to celebrate the re-branding of Robeez by stride rite by hosting a party in New York City on August 7, 2010.
We sincerely apologize to anyone that we offended by offering formula samples in our gift bags - this was not our intention. The gift bag items were donated to us to give to the moms attending and included a variety of baby items. We appreciate all of our customers’ feedback and respect a mother's right to choose the best options for their family.
As always, Stride Rite Children’s Group is committed to offering a progression of shoes for every special moment and developmental step, from crawling to first steps and beyond with the stride rite fit, quality, and commitment that moms have come to trust.
I think it is great that Stride Rite wanted to host a party to rebrand Robeez. I think it is wonderful that they are committed to offering a progression of shoes. I think it is smart of them to use social media and events like this to tell people, especially infuential mom bloggers, about their shoes.
Where I think they get into questionable territory is when they start associating themselves with other brands or with topics that are outside of their area of expertise.
In this case, Stride Rite had the mom bloggers it was working with put together a gift bag and although Stride Rite didn't choose the contents of that bag, it was aware of them, and the bag included samples of infant formula (I'll write more about this below) and other baby related products. If these products are handed out at a Stride Rite event, it is perceived (rightfully) as an endorsement of those products/brands by Stride Rite, especially when Stride Rite is not even being paid for the inclusion of those items.
But when this issue came up, I also started looking a little bit closer at the twitter accounts for Stride Rite and Robeez and noticed that they aren't always talking about their shoes. They are also, among other things, re-tweeting links to blog posts that dole out parenting advice. For some businesses, I think this makes sense. If you have a cloth diapering store, it makes sense to link to articles on cloth diapering. If you sell strollers, linking to an article on how to pick a stroller might make sense. But if you sell shoes, should you really be endorsing articles on, for example, infant sleep?
Infant sleep, like infant feeding, is a sensitive topic. Just as it isn't really a shoe company's place to endorse infant formula, it also isn't really their place to be endorsing an article that says you need to put your child in a crib and that if your infant starts crying you should wait a few minutes to see if he quiets down by himself. While this advice may be what some parents follow, it certainly isn't my cup of tea and I don't appreciate that advice being endorsed by a shoe company. I'm not saying that they should endorse my sleep recommendations either, I just think that they should stay out of the business of sleep altogether and stick to topics specifically related to their product, like feet and walking, unless they want to alienate parts of their audience.
Formula samples do not promote choice
I have been both pleased and disappointed with the responses I've received from people who were involved in the Stride Rite party.
I was disappointed in the Stride Rite response. As I quoted above, although they expressed regret that they may have "offended" someone with the formula samples, that really isn't the issue. They mentioned supporting a mother's right to choose, but as Amber from Birth Routes points out in her post, providing formula samples does not support a mother's right to choose. Instead, these samples have been shown to sabotage mother's breastfeeding relationship because they reach to them in times of weakness. Just like people trying to quit smoking should not carry cigarettes in their purse and people trying to lose weight should not stock their cupboards with junk food, moms who are trying to breastfeed successfully should keep formula samples out of their home. But they don't always know that. They take them, "just in case", and then they reach for them. They reach for them because they are crying and frustrated due to sore nipples, a baby that wants to nurse all the time, or a lack of sleep. They reach for them because their partner, their parents, their in-laws or others want a turn feeding the baby. They reach for them because "one bottle won't hurt", but it can and it does.
I was pleased with the response from Audrey McLelland from Mom Generations, the blogger who was responsible for putting the formula samples into the gift bags, in her post called Understanding the WHO Code. Audrey wrote:
With the items that were included in the bag was a sample package of Parent’s Choice Formula. I do want to make it clear that I was not paid to include it. I was, at the time, unaware of the WHO code and I want to publicly apologize to anyone who was offended, hurt or felt slighted by my allowing the formula in the swag bags. I never meant to upset anyone, that I promise from the bottom of my heart. I spent the afternoon educating myself on the WHO code via PhD in Parenting’s post and in chatting with some friends who are very educated on this topic. I am very appreciative to the women with whom I spoke this afternoon as they took the time to speak with me at length, openly and candidly. I am much more informed now and feel very armed with powerful knowledge.
In her post, Audrey also promised that she will never include formula and/or bottles in any gift bags in the future. I know that she has also been working today on blocking the URLs of major formula companies from her Google ads so that their advertisements do not show up on her site (this may take some time to take effect though as I am still seeing an Enfamil ad next to her post). I see this as a success. Someone who was previously unaware of these issues and that does a lot of work in this space is now educated and has made a promise not to do it again. She has also written about it on her blog, thereby informing a lot of people who were previously unaware of these issues.
Unfortunately, not all of Audrey's readers understood the issue and I know that it is not always easy to understand when first presented with it. The WHO International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is a document prepared by a major international public health body and endorsed by hundreds of countries around the world, many of which have turned it into law. It isn't just a radical or novel idea among some breastfeeding advocates. Formula companies are extremely aggressive in their marketing tactics, very smart sometimes and very stupid other times, and moms deserve protection from that. Breastfeeding moms deserve protection from having their breastfeeding relationship sabotaged and formula feeding moms deserve protection from artificially high prices driven by expensive, aggressive, and off-target marketing.
I was pleased to see that Danielle Friedland wrote a comment on Audrey's blog and a post on her own blog about how the WHO Code for Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes Expands Choice, Not Limits. She carefully explained each of the following points (go read the explanation in her post):
- The WHO Code is not about limiting choices, it's about expanding them.
- Supporting breastfeeding is something the US government and culture gives a lot of lip service to, but does little to actually help out with.
- So the WHO Code is about protecting your choice in what to feed; it's not about eliminating formula.
- The return on investment is very high for formula samples and the markup is very high to make up for this.
- The WHO Code is also about not marketing formula in an inaccurate way.
- I am wholly sympathetic and empathetic to any woman who wants to breastfeed but is unable to.
What is this WHO Code anyway?
If you're reading this and are new to these issues you might be wondering what the WHO Code is anyway. As I wrote in my post on how to report unethical promotion of formula, bottles and other breastmilk substitutes, the Code restricts marketing and related practices for infant formula, any complementary food marketed for babies under 6 months, baby bottles, nipples, pacifiers and other similar products. Some of the provisions of the WHO Code include:
- No advertising to the public of any product within the scope of the Code. This includes ads in any media–print, websites, TV, radio. It also includes in-store promotions, special displays, coupons and discounts (lowering the price of formula is allowed, but promoting a sale price or offering a coupon is not).
- No free samples to mothers. Cans of formula or gifts from formula or bottle manufacturers sent to homes, given to mothers by pediatric or obstetric offices, given to mothers when they leave the hospital, given as prizes or in contests, given at clinics or anywhere in the healthcare system.
- No promotion of products through healthcare systems. Booklets, leaflets, posters,name badge holders, crib cards, tape measures, calendars, etc.
- No gifts to healthcare providers. Anything from formula companies or feeding bottle manufacturers that are given to physicians, nurses, dietitians.
- No words or pictures idealizing artificial feeding or pictures of infants on labels of formula cans, feeding bottles, etc. Packaging of these products should not have idealizing language or pictures of infants and mothers. Idealizing language means that claims are made such as “most like mother herself” or claims that the products are similar to breastmilk or breastfeeding.
Best for Babes, an organization that seeks to give breastfeeding a makeover, support moms in making an informed feeding choice, and beat the "booby traps" that prevent mothers from meeting their own personal breastfeeding goals, is trying to increase awareness of the WHO Code through their new ad campaign. According to their press release:
"Most parents don't know that the WHO-Code was created to protect parent's right to make an informed feeding decision at one of the most vulnerable and precious times of their lives--the birth of a child, explains Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC and a leading expert on WHO-Code compliance. "The aggressive marketing of artificial human milk substitutes has been shown to undermine breastfeeding intention and success, and parents should be careful about where they turn for breastfeeding support." The ad also acknowledges breastfeeding industry companies such as Evenflo, Numom Nutrition, 60 Second Parent, Pumpease, My Baby Experts, Earth Mama Angel Baby, My Milkies, and Be Nice that are WHO-Code compliant and support Best for Babes' mission to beat the "Booby Traps” and change the cultural perception of breastfeeding.
I would love to see more infant product companies, like Robeez/Striderite, and like Motherhood Maternity, jump on board and adopt the WHO Code to show that they truly do support a mother's right to make an informed choice about how to feed her infant and her right to not have that choice undermined.
My baby thought breastfeeding and Robeez booties went well together.
Reader Comments (58)
FWIW, I sent off a letter too. I did edit it slightly so it would look a little more personal, but we'll see. I just added a bit about how something like that may sway hesitant or uncertain mothers towards choosing formula over breastfeeding because of a misguided notion that formula is better.
Amen!
What a thoughtful, researched post -- once again. Thank you for your amazing work.
Dagmar
Dagmar's momsense
nice article, but 2 points
1- we all have to be careful with calling formula dangerous to infants. obviously, randomized controlled trials cannot be performed on babies, so a lot of "data" is flawed. i think its best to say that breastmilk provides the best of nutrition, immune system benefits, and bonding with mom, and that it should be promoted to the utmost degree. should it fail (or should mom have HIV)...turn to formula. but to equate formula with a proven toxin or carcinogen is to lie...and we shouldnt lie to a population that might not know any better.
2- as far as some websites having links to info that isnt in their arena...thats bad (i agree) but it is also the internet. this is an entire online world of information that is not checked, verified, or acknowledged to be true by anybody. the internet, social media, and blogging are perhaps 3 of the most dangerous things to develop over the past 100 years, because moms (and dads) no longer go to an authority to get questions answered. So while I agree with you, i also think the larger message has to be "buyer beware." and to reinforce time and time again that NOTHING ON THE WEB HAS AN GUARANTEE OF BEING TRUE....there are no MDs or PhDs on the Stride Ride Social Media Staff. if im concerned about infant sleep, safe foods, vaccine info, etc etc...the web is the last place to look, in my opinion. you will get a myriad of opinions posing as fact.
I think the issue is that the money isn't really going into R&D... Not at the percentage or rate they would like people to think. There are plenty of industries where the US restricts their marketing (not saying formula should join them) and they still manage to reach customers and turn a tidy profit. Personally, I would be happy just to see the hospitals be marketing-free zones (don't like anyone having a captive audience due to kickbacks) and after that I'm pretty much a free market capitalist. I'm also disgusted, though, by the false advertising that seems to happen everywhere and law-breaking in countries that have adopted the WHO code as law.
To point 1: There is a school of thought that believes it is necessary to linguistically re-normalize breastfeeding. Part of that is speaking of the detriments of formula as opposed to the benefits of breastfeeding (which should be the baseline, norm, control group, etc.). I actually argued on the other side of this issue (I think that studies are often phrased to extol the benefits of the norm so I don't have a problem with it here) but thought it might be interesting for you to have that background. Also, there is some literature out there saying that even moms with HIV may in certain circumstances be better off breastfeeding...but I'm not a scientist and not as up on that bit.
2. I disagree, in part. Yes, buyer beware and know that the advent of the Internetr requires a greater deal of media savvy. However, I think that the Internet is one of the most wonderful inventions in part because of the ability to widely share information. Although you have to be careful about accepting medical advice from just anyone, I think it is excellent that moms have direct access to studies and information. And doctors often have no better idea about infant sleep and feeding than the mom down the street. I've had pediatricians tell me things that go against current studies, sometimes even against their professional association's recommendations! Sometimes an "authority" is not really the best place to get answers to issues that are intuitive or experiential in nature.
"Just like people trying to quit smoking should not carry cigarettes in their purse and people trying to lose weight should not stock their cupboards with junk food, moms who are trying to breastfeed successfully should keep formula samples out of their home."
THIS is the perfect analogy, and it really hits home for me. It's easy for me to understand consumers who believe they "deserve" to be marketed to aggressively, but it is definitely the area of vulnerability that becomes an issue, coupled with the innocence of helplessness of the child to make their own choice. I feel the same way about smoking and fast food ads - I believe it is up to the public to make their own choices but NOT when it comes to children's health. (I do not eat McDonalds and a big part is because the way they market to low income families with small children absolutely infuriates me.)
Great post, as usual. By the way, I voted for you - I continue to be inspired as well as learn from your blog, and it's one of my faves that I follow & recommend.
This is a great thread...I hadn't heard about this, despite being a member of a very active postpartum doula/parent education community. I'll certainly be passing the Stride Rite (and Old Navy) info along!
A great alternative to Robeez are Soft Star Shoes. These are hand-made in a little shop/factory in a small town in Oregon. They use vegetable dyed, very safe & soft leathers, and even have vegan shoes made of ultrasuede. They make big kid and adult sizes (a huge boon for big babies -- I once cared for a 9 m/o whose feet were too big for even the biggest Robeez at the time). They'll even make custom shoes for you or your kiddo. And on top of all that, they don't cost that much more either. I swear, I don't work for them or anything, I just fell in love with the store on a visit there this summer. www.softstarshoes.com
I have no affiliation with this company, but came across it in a blog. They're a nice alternative to what ON is selling. (Onesies printed with I'm learning to Breastfeed. Please: no bottles, no pacifiers)
http://madebymomma.spreadshirt.com/breastfeeding-C46979D3